All: This Is My Last Day - Chapter 5

CHAPTER 5
In 1972, I was still manning the switchboard and doing dictationist duties when, on my lunch hours and free time I conducted research and interviews on the subject of euthanasia. It became a piece that I sprang totally unannounced on Washington Bureau Chief Grant Dillman.

David: This is a nice compliment from our National Features Editor. Grant
March 15, 1972
Cc HLS BFM
Grant Dillman
Washn.
Dear Grant:
You surprised us last week with David Rosso's offering on euthanasia. It was
an excellent piece and fine wrapup.
As it happens we had been working on the same story and Fred Winship (the
department's newest member) had been gathering material for it and in fact
started writing. Rosso's piece was so good, however, that we felt the best
thing was to combine the efforts which is what we have done. It is slated to
move in World Horizons next week for Sunday April 2. The only reason we're
holding it another week is that we have Ed DeLong's indepther on the POW
rehabilitation program as our centerpiece for the March 26 Horizons. That,
too, incidentally, is an excellent job as I told DeLong when he had occasion
to call me yesterday.
This letter is primarily to explain to Rosso why his story (he has the
byline) has been rejiggered some, to include our material. (It runs now
about 1,500).
Best,
Paul
In 1990, there was some joy on the UPI message wires in the midst of all the gloom and doom. The message wire continued to crank out story ideas, consultations on stories, notices of upcoming events and an exchange of messages that prompted the following story that moved on UPI’s A wire on Oct. 17, 1990:
bc-proposal:1ped 10-17
UPI message wires hum a love song
CHICAGO (UPI) -- The internal message wires at United Press International were humming with routine business Wednesday when broadcast writer Ellen Zyduck, busily writing a sports report, lost her concentration.
She lost it because of a message from Tobin Beck in Milwaukee, deputy editor of UPI's Central Region, that began:
zyduck-hx
will u marry me?
Said Zyduck, "I was finishing up the second sports briefs. I glanced at the message wire and caught the message from Tobin. I got so flustered I totally forgot to do the next news briefs package, so everyone on the Chicago desk had to drop what they were doing and pitch in. I guess no one minded."
What was wrought on UPI's message wire had its origins two years ago at a job interview in Fargo, N.D., said Zyduck, 31.
"Tobin hired me (originally as South Dakota state editor) at Perkins Restaurant in Fargo and we became friends over the wire. We started dating in June 1989. We've never lived in the same city or even the same state.
"We travel on weekends to see each other. Truly a long-distance relationship. Our phone bills are over $300 a month," she said.
Beck, 37, a 12-year veteran of UPI, said he and Zyduck first talked about marriage several weeks ago.
"I wanted to propose in a different way, a way that we both could look back on and laugh, and treasure, years from now," he said.
Zyduck had her own explanation for the delay.
"It just takes a 37-year-old bachelor that long to get rid of the cold feet and make a formal proposal," Zyduck said.
Her response?
beck-uc
II marriage
Roses are red, violets are blue,
I'll see you at the altar
With our relatives and friends, too.
And here begins Tobe and Ellen's excellent adventure.
chrs-zyduck-nx
upi 10-17-90 12:57 ped
beck-uc
you got me so flustered i just forgot to do an entire briefs package. Chrs-zyduck-hx
zyduck-hx drop beck-uc
yeah, go for it ellen, chrs
ferziger, mooar, brown-wa
beck-uc, zyduck-hx
another institution (bachelorhood) bites the dust, eye never thot eye’d see the day. Congrats. Da ghost-nw

zyduck
oh, yeah, pleeeeesaaase, give him a nod and let’s have all a real bash in fond du lac. Better yet, why wait until june? Your colleagues at foreign desk already packing and ready to come for what looks like a celebration of great relationships. You two are lucky, felicidades, Jorge-waforn (Washington foreign desk)

more than five yrs at upi, eye thot eye’d seen just abt everything on the msg wire. But u two take the (wedding) cake with proposal et acceptance msgs. Gosh, it’s so romantic. Congrats et best of luck to u both. Rgds. Whitworth-x (St. Louis)

oh, you kids…congratulations from haas in the capitol and wheeler sends his best also.

All happy stuff, but at least one Unipresser still had his mind on the business at hand. Jeff Reynolds, running the national desk in Washington combined his good wishes with a request for 1 p.m. stories.

Congratulations. Any 1 peemers tdy? Reynolds-ntl (rosso insert. God, Jeff, you are sooo romantic!)

I love it, it’s true love at upi. Send out the urgents, the bulletins, the flashes. Congratulations and best of luck to u. cheers. Shomon-gx

hope u give her a romantic, private proposal as well. Congrats. Chrs. Mcginnis-sr

Hot damn and go for it! Glad you two have a life after and the best to both of you. Rosso-wa

It sure wd have been embarrassing if she turned you down! Glad it turned out in your favor, congrats and best of luck! Bass-hhs (covered Health and Human Services in Washington)

Gee hv u set a date? Eye kin bring some rolling rock and/or Budweiser longnecks, a cupla sides o’ beef et a mass of peach cobbler (pits ‘n’ all!) we kin lower heaven ! congrats to u both! Dias-nxf (New York financial)

Zyuduck
Wot a great stry to tell ur grandchildren! Congrats, congrats, congrats. Chrs. Ia crew (Indianapolis)

Zyduck
You’d better answer quickly before somebody beats you to him. Reynolds-ntl (ok, jeff, getting better-rosso-wa)

Beck-uc, zyduck-hx
Btw, eye proposed to lauralee rite after she bit me, eye did bite her bak, tho she got an engagement ring, but tt wuz it fer conventionality. She gave me her silver dragon et her tooth, both of which eye wear arnd my neck. Eye also gave her an ankle bracelet made of gold skulls et we bought his ‘n’ hers chainsaws. Dias-nx

The following messages were written by Steven Geimann and Pieter Van Bennekim, who used the "improper" use of the message wire as a basis for firing me years later.
Zyduck, beck-uc
Your messages today sure beat the routine billboards, skywriting and singing telegrams that some grooms employ to impress their brides-to-be. Just reading your sentiments and the friendly greetings from our colleagues reignites the romantic flames that smolder inside all of us. I wish for both of you the greatest love and endless happiness in your life together. Knowing both of you as I do, I’m very, very happy today. Cheers. Geimann-wa
Love blooms at upi. Congrats to both. Hope toby can make it to the alter without crutches. Chrs. Vanbennekom-wa
U guys are nuts. Best of luck. Rgds. Snyder-wa
Reynolds-ntl
I’m embarrassed about having this be in a story. I met ellen in july 1988 at a perkins restaurant in fargo, s./d., when I interviewed her and hired her for an opening in Pierre, s.d. we saw each other periodically over the next year, more frequently when she moved to upi-Chicago last year. That’s when we really started dating. I wanted to propose in a different way, a way that we could both look back on and laugh, and treasure, years from now. Over the past month we’ve talked about getting married, and I asked her about three weeks ago at my apartment. She was on her knees next to me because I couldn’t kneel because of the cast on my right leg after surgery for my ruptured Achilles tendon. Real romantic, today was the formal proposal. Chrs-beck-uc (Milwaukee)
Reynolds-ntl
Saw msg. “I was finishing up the second sports briefs. I glanced at the message wire and caught the message form tobin about four messages up.” I got so flustered I totally forgot to do the next news briefs package so everyone on the Chicago desk had to drop what they were doling and pitch in. I guess noone minded. Marcy kreiter, state editor, said, “calm down.” Zyduck-hx (Chicago)
Bc-advisory-1 pm 10-17
Editors:
Another story about people, places and things … Routine message wire traffic at UPI takes on different tone when staffer in Milwaukee sends marriage proposal to sweetheart in Chicago; she accepted., (proposal) this story will move about 1 p.m. EDT